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How can I eat a grain-free diet, you ask? It seems like an impossible feat these days when grains are in everything you pick up in the grocery store. We are encouraged to eat a grain-free diet for better health, but we need a little help to learn how to make this feasible within our lifestyle.
How can we live without bread and cakes and pasta? These are all the things we have learned to love since we were kids. They are the staples of life we were taught, so who can live without grains? Seems impossible.
The first question is why do you want to eat a grain-free diet? Do you have medical conditions that warrant a restriction or elimination of all grains? Should you be guarded against grains containing gluten or all grains?
From what I read, there seems to be equal arguments on the topic of whether eating or abstaining from grains is warranted. What both the cons and pros side agree on is reducing or eliminating processed and refined grains from our diets.
The important element in the argument is to be certain that each side is talking about the same “food”. By definition, a “whole grain” contains all parts of the seed, while refined grains often have the bran or germ removed, leaving just the highly starchy endosperm. Whole grains can be a source of nutrients like B-vitamins, magnesium, and others, but in refined grains most of these beneficial parts are removed.
Grains are made up of three main parts:
Be diligent about reading food labels. If you are in search of whole grain foods in place of refined and processed grains, look for the word “whole” before the grain. For instance, look for whole grain wheat, 100% whole wheat, or 100% whole grain, and don’t be fooled by whole wheat.
Some foods are always whole grains such as oatmeal, brown rice, and wild rice. Foods listed on labels that are not whole grains but could trick you are:
There are a lot of variations on a grain-free diet, but generally, prohibited foods include:
Should you be avoiding grains? Here are some pros and cons offered by the Academy of Culinary Nutrition:
“Avoiding Grains
Pros
A grain-free diet can lead to some of the following health benefits:
Cons
Grain-free diets aren’t all sunshine and rainbows. Here are some of the negative aspects:
Consuming Grains
Pros
Grains are a rich source of nutrients, including fibre, B vitamins (they help with stress and boost energy levels), and minerals like magnesium and iron. Some of the benefits of eating grains are:
One thing to keep in mind is when we say ‘grains’, we mean grains in their whole form, not processed refined flours and starchy foods like bagels and English muffins. Think a pot of quinoa or brown rice, not a product with the healthwashing term ‘whole grain’ splashed on the label.
Cons
Carbo-tarians may experience some of the following negative health effects:
It sounds to me as though the jury is still out on this issue. It will take some of your own experimentation to make the determination if you feel better after eliminating grains from your diet for at least 30 days. Is it worth it? Did eliminating grains from your diet have a noticeable positive impact on your health?
What can you eat on a grain free diet and what substitutions could work for you? Here are some suggestions from the Academy of Culinary Nutrition:
Additionally, from Dr. Axe, here is more helpful information:
Foods to eat in moderation on a grain-free diet include:
There are some great recipes available online that are really tasty which I highly recommend. We have done the following, not for the specific purpose of eliminating grains from our diet but just to include more plant-based foods. These worked very well, and we will continue to prepare these meals:
Granted, it won’t be easy and may take some time to adopt a taste to the change in your eating plan, but it can be done. Whether it will be a permanent lifestyle change for you or not will depend on the changes you see in your own body and will rest with you and your physician. You know your body better than anyone, and the changes will let you know if you should continue or not.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure Page for more info.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my…
October 18, 2018This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure Page for more info.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my…
October 18, 2018
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